Morning journal and courier., 1887-03-23
COLLISION AT PLA1Nv1LLE.
One Freight Train Crashes Into An
other-Caused by the Fall of Four

One Freight Train Crashes Into An
other-Caused by the Fall of Four
Telegraph POles-NarrOw Escapes.
About o'clock yesterday morning west
bound freight train on the New York and
New England railroad ran into the rear of
another freight train a mile east of Plain
vile. The caboose, two or three cars and
the engine wero pretty well demolished, but
no one was hurt. The bound freight,
Conductor Sissons', was on a side track to al
low the o'clock west train to pass. It had
twenty cars with engine 100, Engineer Gale
her, and was through freight bound for the
Hudson river. While on the siding four
telegraph poles close alongside the track on
the north fell over on the train, holding
thirteen cars. The telegraph poles fell from
the immense amount of snow and ice upon
the dozen or more wires. the coating on the
wires being about two inches thick, and aid
ed by the strong wind.
After the passenger train had gone west
Conductor Sisson sent Brakeman Davenport
| back to flag the approaching local freight
between Hartford and Waterbury, engine 40,
Engineer Donnelly and Conductor Thayer,
| with seven loaded cars. Croley, the regular
fagman, wss performing other work and Da-
venport was sent for.
After considerable work part of Conduc-
tor Sisson's train was liberated and this part
of the train was moved to reach the main
track in order to proceed, the intention being
to leave the other cars behind. As the rear
of Sissons train was moving east and was
nearly upon the main track the engine of
Thayer's train crashed into it. Engineer
Donnellv, half mile east, had reversed the
molten of his engine and shut off steam on
account of the steep grade. When he saw
Davenport he was running twenty miles an
hour He whistled for brakes and put on
his power brakes, and at the time of the col
lision the engine was moving ten miles an
hour. When within about thirty feet of the
"buggy" or caboose of Sisson's train Don
nelly and his fireman jumped on either side
in safety.
The oaboose was raised in the air, truck
and all, and thrown about fifty feet to the
north, and the box car ahead of it was
forced about the same distance. Both were
completely wrecked. Two fat cars just ahead
of these were wrenched from their tracks
The tender of Donnelly's engine was jam
med well into the cab, the headlight thrown
sixty feet down the bank, and the small en-
CINE wheels broken from their fastenings.
Water and steam pipes of the engine were
either broken or badly wrenohed. A wrecker
in charge of Superintendent Holbrook went
out early, and travel was resumed there at
about 10 O'Clock. No person was injured,
though the wreck was bad one for its size.
Donnelly told Hartford Times reporter,
who was at the wreck few minutes after it
occurred, that if he had had more room, the
length of his train, he believed he could have
saved the collision. Davenport went back
nine telegraph poles, when the rule is to go
back twenty eight. The fagman then placed
a torpedo on the rail, and walked in seven,
remaining at twenty-one. This rule applies
to both freight and passenger trains. The
baggage master of Conductor Baldwins train
delay ed at Plainville by the accident, went
back east, the regular distance after the col
lision occurred. There was binding snow,
driven by high wind during the forenoon at
Plainville, and bothered the engineers of all